In the global economy, concerns about environmental and social responsibility in product manufacturing, distribution and use are driving the need to provide information about products to consumers at all phases of a product's life cycle (from growth/manufacturing to disposal) to allow consumers to know whether a given product was produced or used in a responsible manner or to allow consumers to know the environmental and/or social impact of a given product for comparing the product against other products. For example, a purchaser of an article of clothing may believe the article of clothing was manufactured in an environmentally and socially responsible manner, but in reality, a portion of the manufacturing life cycle, for example, cotton growth, may have been produced using a variety of fertilizers and pesticides the purchaser may find unacceptable. Moreover, the cotton may have been harvested in a manner that did not meet acceptable labor standards (for example, use of child labor). Persons or entities desiring such information may exist at all phases of production or use, for example, down stream component purchasers, retailers, end users, or even disposers of a depleted or used product.
Management of data at all phases of a product's life cycle in a manner that ensures reliability and security of the data, as well as, anonymity (if required) of the provider of the data is often difficult to achieve. For any given product, a multitude of data items may be relevant to the product's life cycle in association with all the components and/or processes employed in the creation, use and eventual disposal of the product. For example, for even a single component of a given product, those responsible for the product may need to track a multitude of data items, for example, component date, component quality, component environmental and safety issues, and the like.
It is with respect to these and other considerations that the present invention has been made.